"America," England started, "are you sure this is the best use of our time? We should be preparing to defend ourselves against Ian- preparing ourselves to fight back!"

"Dude, c'mon. We've been stressing out over that stuff for too long! You guys need to learn to appreciate the finer things in life!" America said excitedly.

"What do you know about zhe finer zhings in life?" France scoffed.

"America, we need to stay focused! Ian could be readying an attack as we speak and we're no where near ready to fight back!"

"Fine, you two can go stress yourselves an extra century or two on your complexion-"

"Mon Dieu!"

"I'm at least going to take Russia out to see the sights!" America wrapped his arm around Russia's surprisingly thin shoulders and pulled him a bit closer, "Right, my non-commie new-best-friend?"

"Oh? S-sure," Russia said a bit tentatively.

"Excellent! Y'all are welcome to join us if y'all decide to quit being PARTY-POOPERS!"

((I finally learned the "proper" use of "y'all" and "all y'all" after my mom moved us to a southern state. For anyone who's curious, "y'all" is "all of you," and "all y'all" is "all of you, your family, your close friends, your less-close friends- basically everybody and their uncle))

And with that, America strutted off towards the city with Russia following close behind. They took a cab which zoomed up "almost as fast as the Russian winter winds."

Russia was constantly amazed by every little thing in this century, and America just smiled every time he discovered something new. There were people passing them by on the street shooting questioning glances when Russia crouched on the sidewalk, tracing the lines and trying to figure out how they had gotten the stone so smooth.

"Are you sure I'm not bothering you?" Russia asked America after a woman shot him a particularly violent glare.

"Nah, you're cool. You've got a lot of catching up to do, so go ahead and explore and stuff." America said as he shrugged, his breath catching in the cold fall air as mist.

"America... you aren't cold, are you?"

"Nah, it's fine. It's not even snowing yet."

"If you want, we could go to that restaurant you wanted to go to- that way you're not standing around in the cold. Besides, it'll take me more than a few hours to get accustomed to everything, so we might as well go inside."

"I suppose. C'mon! You're going to love it!"* America said, grabbing Russia's hand and running off in the direction of the restaurant.**

America dragged him to a small building near the New York Harbor with a decent**** view of the Statue of Liberty. America pointed it out to Russia who was- of course- in awe.

"That has to be huge, considering how far away we are!"

"Like a hundred feet, I think- not counting the pedestal. France got it for me for my birthday, although I think he just wanted to sleep with me..."

"What?" Russia practically spit out his water.

"Dude! I was joking! Don't look so mortified! Although, that would explain a few things..." America pondered if for a moment before taking the menus from the waitress who'd just appeared.

"What... is all of this?" Russia asked looking at the strange names of foods he'd never heard of.

"Flip to the burgers section, dude, they have, like, the best!" America said. Russia flipped through the menu while America continued talking, "Well, they're not as good as the ones at Poe's Tavern, but this is still one of my favorite burger places!"

Since Russia really had no idea what to expect, he pretty much agreed to order whatever America recommended (which happened to be a classic cheeseburger with American cheese). America on the other hand was debating between two burgers as if they were two lovers...

"Aaack! I can't decide! I always love the double bacon burger 'cuz it's my favourite and all, but I'm also really in the mood for that one with the fired egg on it! At Poe's Tavern, the fried egg burger is really good, but I've never had it here, so it could suck for all I know! I could just try it, 'cuz YOLO, right? But then again, bacon~..."

America started drooling over bacon and the table became very quiet all of a sudden. After a moment or two, America noticed the silence and looked up to see if Russia was paying attention, or still there even. He was, and he was. Looking back at America with curious eyes.

"Aren't ya gonna, y'know, yell at me or something?"

"Why would I do that?"

"Eh? Oh, shit... I guess you wouldn't 'cuz you've never been to any of the meetings, have you?"

"Nope."

"Well England- well... anyone actually- would have just been all 'Why don't you just get them both since you're always shoveling down like thirty McDonnalds burgers anyway?' " America said mockingly.

"And why don't you?"

" 'Cuz they're BIG burgers. Seriously! And you get a crap-ton of fries with each burger! Plus a big-ass glass of soda! Not even I can finish all of that if I got two of each! And plus, the only reason I eat that much at he meetings are 'cuz I skip breakfast- honest!"

"Can't you just not finish your meal?" Russia asked.

"Nuh-uh! I have to finish it! It helps me fight commies! I mean terries! I mean terrorists!"

Silence...

"Ya know wat? I tink I'll get te bacon burgur..."

((Sorry, America and Russia kind of took over this chapter... Actual stuff was SUPPOSED to happen, but, um, no... Anyway, fun chapter for RusAme shippers, right? Lol. I ship it... sorta. I ship America X MemoryLoss!Russia, but I haven't written that fanfic yet so shhhhhh...))

*NOT a McDonnalds reference, but if you waited until after the chapter to read these notes, then you already knew that.

**In the background, Canada appears and shouts (whispers) "Wuss! It's not even cold!"***

***I'm just kidding, Canada's not here. (Canada?)

**** "decent" meaning you can almost see it if you stand on the table and peer out the window